About

$15,660

pledged of $10,000 goal

217

backers

Thanks for taking the time to watch our video and visit this page for the Hero Games Kickstarter for The Book Of The Empress!

We hope to raise enough money to produce and print The Book Of The Empress and are asking for your support to make that happen. “BotE” (as we call it) is the latest supplement describing the Champions Universe, a rich, vibrant, detailed superhero setting that you and other Champions fans have helped us develop over the past thirty years. Now’s your chance to keep that tradition going and make the Champions Universe even better!

Like its predecessors (The Book Of The Destroyer and The Book Of The Machine), The Book Of The Empress is an in-depth look at one of the major supervillains of the Champions Universe: Istvatha V’han, the Empress of a Billion Dimensions. Ruler of an empire that encompasses much of the Multiverse, she now has her sights set on the greatest prize of all: Champions Universe Earth!

The Book Of The Empress is your guide to everything about Istvatha V’han. It features:

—a history of the Empress, from her earliest days conquering single planets up to her recent attempts to invade Earth’s dimension

—an in-depth look at the Empress's powers, motivations, and resources

—a review of the Imperial Legions — the mighty V’hanian military — including its regular soldiers, superhuman soldiers, weapons, and vehicles

—a description of the Multiverse of the Champions Universe, including its nature, its structure, and numerous example dimensions

—a description of the V’hanian Empire itself, including V’han’s regents and viceroys, the imperial bureaucracy, the Imperial Security Force, how she plans and executes the conquest of a dimension, and her current plans for Earth

—suggestions on how to use Istvatha V’han in your campaign, including plot seeds

—a discussion of dimensional campaigning, including a Random Dimension Generator the GM can use to quickly create new dimensions

Where Your Money Goes

If you pledge to support this project, here’s what your money’s going toward:

—paying the creators involved in the project: writers, illustrators, and graphic designers

—paying for the actual printing of the book

—covering shipping and fulfillment

As with any Kickstarter, we don't take your money unless the project is fully funded.

Thanks for reading our pitch, and we hope you’ll be able to help us make The Book Of The Empress a reality!

The BotE Kickstarter has been a success so far, and we want to thank all of our supporters for their help. Now it’s time to try to make the project an even bigger success, and to do that we’re announcing two additions.

First, we’re setting a new goal of $14,000. If we reach that amount, author Steven S. Long will create a PDF to be given away free only to backers of the Kickstarter. It will provide more details on the Crusaders of the Infinite Realities, an organization of mystics who fight against Empress Istvatha. This PDF will include character sheets for at least five members of the Crusaders as well as other information about the group.

Second, we’re establishing a new reward tier. $150. For a $150 pledge you not only get a copy of the book with signed bookplate (plus of course a PDF and Character Pack), you get to help Steve create a new villain or hero! These characters will appear in a special PDF that we’ll distribute to all backers of the BotE project. You can choose whether to have Steve create a member of the Imperial Battalion (one of the Empress’s superhuman soldiers) or a member of the Crusaders of the Infinite Realities (mystic anti-V’hanian rebels). You tell Steve what sort of powers you want the character to have and provide some other background details, and he’ll create the character. And of course you’ll get credit for inspiring the character in the PDF. It’s an opportunity to contribute directly to the Champions Universe!

The main benefit of the new reward -- helping to create a character -- will be extended for free to all backers who pledge at the $1,000 or $2,000 level. Backers who've already pledged at the $200 level and would like to add "create a character" from the $150 tier to their reward can do so for an additional pledge of $50. Characters created by backers from above the $150 tier will be in addition to the 10 allocated for that tier -- so this means more cool characters for all backers to enjoy!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

Imperial Herald: As “Imperial Battalioneer,” plus we’ll ship you a copy of the printed book when it’s done. (Price includes shipping within the continental United States; for shipping to Canada or Mexico add $30; for shipping to Europe add $50.)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $80 or more
About $80

Imperial Viceroy: As “Imperial Herald,” but you’ll receive a numbered (10-99 of 100) copy of the book with a bookplate signed by author Steven S. Long. (Price includes shipping within the continental United States; for shipping to Canada or Mexico add $30; for shipping to Europe add $50.)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $150 or more
About $150

Imperial Hero: You’ll receive a copy of the book with a bookplate signed by author Steven S. Long, a PDF of the book, and the Hero Designer Character Pack for the book, plus thanks on our website and in the book’s credits. (Price includes shipping within the continental United States; for shipping to Canada or Mexico add $30; for shipping to Europe add $50.) In addition, Steve will create a new character — a member of the Imperial Battalion or the Crusaders of the Infinite Realities — based on ideas and input you provide! These characters will be collected into a PDF and distributed to all backers, and you’ll be prominently identified as the one who provided the inspiration.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

Imperial Consort: As “Imperial Regent,” but you’ll receive a numbered (2-3 of 100) copy of the book with a bookplate signed by author Steven S. Long. (Price includes shipping anywhere in the world.) You’ll also receive one copy of the PDF of every HERO System 6th Edition book produced to date.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,000 or more
About $2,000

Secret Power Behind The Throne: As “Imperial Consort,” but you’ll receive the #1 copy of the book with a bookplate signed by author Steven S. Long. The book will be dedicated to you, and you’ll be specially thanked on the Hero Games website. Your name will also appear somewhere else in the book, hidden to represent the awesome influence you wield as a Secret Power Behind the Throne. You’ll also receive two additional copies of the book (signed if you wish) and three copies of the PDF of every HERO System 6th Edition book produced to date. (Price includes shipping anywhere in the world.)
Last but not least, the author of the book, Steve Long, will travel at Hero Games’s expense anywhere in the US or Canada to run a Champions adventure for you and up to four of your friends on a mutually agreed date. You provide the friends and snacks.